Priscilla Antoniazza Campos from Brazil benefited from an ITACET Foundation scholarship for the year 2017 - 2018, enabling her to enrol on the Specialized Master's in Tunnels and Underground Works run at ENTPE / INSA - France

Here, she gives us an insight into what led her into tunnelling and what she thinks of the Master's:

"The underground world has fascinated me for a while. It all started with a tunnelling course with professor André Assis when I was an undergraduate student at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). During that course, I realized how necessary underground construction is to improve the quality of life for society. Thus I decided to develop specialist knowledge in this field and to do the Specialized Master’s in Tunnels and Underground Works at ENTPE/INSA.

The course combines theoretical and practical knowledge. It gives a great overview of the many aspects of an underground project, from the design phase to operation and maintenance, covering design, risk management, contractual processes, and construction. The lectures are given by the professionals of the best construction and design companies in France. This allowed us not only to be in contact with the field’s professionals but to learn from their experience. In parallel to the lectures, we also spent many hours working on the design of a real project (EOLE), playing the role of a design office. This project also allowed us to apply the knowledge that we learned during the classes to a real-life project. We had the opportunity to visit the construction sites of some of the most important ongoing projects in France like the Grand Paris and the Lyon Turin Euralpin Tunnel (TELT).  The Master's is completed with a professional thesis that must be developed over a five months internship in a specialized company. I have just started my internship in Setec Terrasol and I am really excited. 

Working on tunnel projects is a really passionate job. This Master's has led me to discover the underground world and I love the specific characteristics and all the uncertainties of each project that make them so challenging. I also like to think about how this work will impact and contribute to urban life. I hope to work on tunnel design projects for many years, contributing to the development of new methodologies and pushing design limits ever further.

The Master's has been an incredible professional experience for me and I would like to thank the ITACET Foundation for giving me this opportunity. Without its help, it wouldn’t have been possible".